Beam bending machine



Oct. 1, 1940. A Q MORGAN 2,216,694

BEAM BENDING MACHINE Filed June 17, 19s" a Sheets-Sheet 1 llmlmlummmmuuI Oct. 1, 1940. A. c. MORGAN BEAM BENDING MACHINE Filed June 1'7, 193' 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 1, 1940. A c MORGAN I 2,216,694

BEAM BENDING MACHINE Patented Oct. 1, 1940 m ster BEAM BEND'ING MACHINE Alfred C. Morgan, Bethlehem, Pa., assignor to Bethlehem Steel Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania.

Application June 1'7, 1937,:Serial No; 148,640

5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in machinery for bending metal. It is particularly directed to a machine adapted'to bend structural beams while cold.

As is well known, the cold bending of flanged beams is always attended with the danger that the beam willbuckle during the bending operation and be wasted. On the other hand there are certain advantages connected with cold bending, chief among which is the saving effected by avoiding the reheating of the article to be bent. Furthermore, proper cold working of the metal has a beneficial effect on its mechanical properties- Attempts in the'past to devise means foreficiently cold bending beams have not been entirely successful, as the practice has been to leave one flange and at leasta portion of the web free during the bending operation, exerting all of the bending force on the other flange. The result of such a method may be that the free flange and web portion, being unsupported and unconfined, may be deformed in amanner not desired.

It is an object of this invention to provide a beam bending machine in which both flanges of the beam are simultaneously subjected to bending pressure, while at the-same timethe web is securely held against buckling. l W

The novel features of my invention will be more fully understood from the following description and claims, taken with the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an end elevation of my machine looking in the direction of travel of a beam, the beam in the machine being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is an elevation looking from the left in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, with the ram at the bottom of its downward stroke;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of one of the clamping blocks as it appears just prior to engaging the web of a beam; and

Fig. 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, II is a frame,

in the upper arm of which is mounted ram |2.

Ram 52 is actuated by suitable hydraulic or other power means not shown. Mounted on the lower arm of frame H is base l3. Mounted on base l3 and suitably secured thereto is die block l4.

Mounted in T-slots in ram l2 are the heads it of bolts I6. Bolts [6 pass through openings in the horizontal flanges of angle members I! and on their lower portions carry compression springs l8 held in position by nuts I9.

Positioned between ram I2 and angle members t'op piece are wedge blocks and 2|. Wedge block-20 'is welded to the horizontal flanges of angle members ll, while wedge block 2| is movable horizontally by means of rotatable threaded rod 22 :which is secured in a collar 23 on ram l2 and R engages a threaded opening in wedge block 2|.

Angle members H" are cut away intermediate their ends at 24 to provide clearance for a beam.

Suitably mounted between angle members H and secured by bolts 25 adjacent the outer ends of 510 angle members H are the head portions 26 of arms2'l. Positioned between angle members i! and welded to the head portions 26 of arms 21 is ram head 28. Arms 21 are provided on each sidewith slanting grooves 29.

Clamping blocks 30 are made up of top piece 3|, bottom piece 32 and intermediate wedge piece 33. The parts are held in assembly by side plates 34 having flanges or lugs 35 which engage grooves,

'29. Bolts 36 passing through side plates 34 and 520 through top piece 3|, bottom piece 32 and wedge portion 33 hold said parts in engagement. The

openings'3l in side plates 34 slant downwardly toward the center of the machine, as seen in Figs. 1 and fl. interposed between clamping blocks 30 and arms 21 are wear plates 38 ofa suitable material such as bronze. Wear plates 38 are secured to wedge pieces 33-by screws 39. Referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the upper face of 3| and the lower face of bottom piece 30 32 are rounded.

Angle members 40 serve as side rails for die block I4. Intermediate the ends of angle members M! are guideways 4| which serve to guide the movements of arms 21.

The operation of my machine is as follows:

While ram I2 is in the raised position, a beam 42 is inserted in the machine longitudinally between clamping blocks 30 and allowed to rest on die block I l. Power is then turned on by means 40 of a treadle or other suitable means not shown. As ram l2 descends ram-head 28 engages the top flange of the beam. Arms 21 descend in guideways l| and, by means of side plates 34 travelling in grooves 29, clamping blocks 30 are forced into 45 engagement with the web of the beam. As the through clamping blocks 30 to the lower flange of the beam, so that the upper and lower flanges are subjected simultaneously to the bending force, while at the same time the web of the beam is firmly supported and prevented from buckling. When the downward stroke of ram I2 is completed, the ram is raised. Side plates 34, moving in grooves 29, draw clamping blocks 35! out of engagement with the web of the beam. Top piece 3| moves downward along wedge piece 33, freeing the clamping blocks from engagement with the flanges of the beam. The beam is then inched along, and the cycle is repeated until the entire beam is bent.

The radius of bend may be altered as desired by means of wedge blocks 20 and 2|. By rotating threaded rod 22, block 2| may be moved inwardly or outwardly. In this way, the lowermost point reached by the work face of ram-head 28 may be changed to give a larger or smaller radius as desired.

It will of course be apparent that a wide range of sizes of beams may be bent in my machine, as clamping blocks 30 may be easily disassembled and removed from the machine, to be replaced by others of a different size.

The reason for constructing the clamping blocks 30 of a plurality of parts will be apparent from the foregoing description. It of course gives great flexibility of movement. Furthermore, it is only by such a construction as this that it is possible to obtain a close-fitting engagement with both flanges and the entire web portion of the beam.

Beams bent on my machine have shown Workmanship superior to that secured by other methods. The flanges are parallel and free from kinks, while the webs are straight and free from waves. Furthermore, as has been said, the cold working of the beam in the manner effected by my machine has a beneficial effect on its mechanical properties. Actual tests made on specimens of beams before and after bending in my machine show a decided increase in the strength of the beam after bending.

While I have described my invention in considerable detail, I do not wish to be limited to the exact and specific details thereof as shown and described, as it will be obvious that numerous variations thereof might be constructed without departing from the scope and spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for bending flanged members comprising a die block, a power driven ram, depending arms attached to said ram and driven therewith, and clamping blocks carried by said arms, said clamping blocks being adapted to move into engagement with the full Web of a flanged member in response to pressure exerted by said ram and being adapted to engage both the upper and lower flanges of a flanged member.

2. A machine for bending structural beams comprising a die block, power driven means for applying bending pressure to the upper flange of a beam, depending arms attached to and moving with said power driven means, and means carried by said arms which are adapted, in response to pressure exerted by said power driven means, to engage the full web of the beam and at the same time to transmit bending pressure to the lower web of the beam.

3. A machine for bending I-beams comprising a die block, a power driven ram, depending arms carried by said ram, and means slidably attached to said arms for engaging the upper and lower flanges and all of the intermediate Web portion of a beam in response to pressure exerted by said power driven ram.

4. A machine for bending structural beams comprising a die block, a power driven ram, depending arms carried by said ram and a pair of clamping blocks having a slidable connection with said arms and being adapted to move in response to pressure exerted by said power driven ram to engage the full web and both flanges of a beam during the bending operation.

5. A machinefor bending structural beams comprising a die block, a power driven ram for exerting bending pressure on the upper flange of a beam, depending arms carried by said ram, and means slidably engaging said arms, said means being adapted to move in response to pressure exerted by said power driven ram to grip the full web of a beam and to transmit bending pressure to the lower flange of a beam simultaneously with the exerting of bending pressure on the upper flange.

ALFRED C. MORGAN. 

